sustainable living at our farm, inn & cooking school in Le Marche, Italy

Monday, June 18

A Family Farm & Food Holiday in Italy: Cooking Classes for Kids

Holidays with the kids can be difficult to plan- finding that compromise
between keeping them entertained, but at the same time doing something
appealing to you is never easy. Bring your family to the little known region of Le
Marche, in central Italy, to stay in a beautiful agriturismo (working farm). Enjoy a
family cooking lesson, horse back ride in the hills, a visit to a bee keeper for
honey and chilling out by the pool! Unplug & relax in the Italian countryside.

This region of Italy, Le Marche, is in central Italy next to Umbria and
Tuscany. Not overrun by tourists, Le Marche is perfect for a mix of sight seeing and
doing - medieval art and architecture, hiking, horseback riding and sun
worshiping at the beach are just a few things you can do.

This family holiday is all about having something for everyone! Included
in the price is one half day cookery lesson for the whole family. You will pick
the ingredients from the vegetable garden and will all get your hands
dirty cooking up some delicious food.

Even if all the kids make at home are a peanut butter & jelly sandwiches - they will love making pizzas in Italy! Get your hands dirty - start by making the dough from scratch, fire up the wood burning oven, make the sauce & toppings, then try your hand tossing the dough! And for dessert we will create the most delicious tiramisu!

But you don’t need to be limited to just this session, if some (or all) of you want to do more cooking, there is always the option add additional sessions. Away from the kitchen, a horse back riding trip is also included in the price. The local guide, will take you & your family on a memorable horse ride along the hills of Urbania.

Aside from a visit to a local bee keeper for honey, which is also included in the price, the time will be your own. You are free to relax around the pool, or explore the local area. You can explore the town of Urbino, whose historical district has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site, or the enchanting medieval city of Gradara or in under an hour arrive at the seaside town Fano packed full of beach lovers and fabulous gelato to enjoy!

Make memories that last a lifetime...

Accommodation & Food

The stone farmhouse also houses the cooking school and other apartments
which most likely will be filled with guests. Your apartment, named Ciliege (cherry)
after the fruit grown on the farm, has a rustic style to match the
surroundings - wood beams, tiled floors and stone walls. It is equipped
with its own kitchen and espresso maker so you can self cater. There are
two bedrooms, one double and one with two single beds. Both of the
bedrooms are ensuite, so you don’t need to share a bathroom with your
children! Outside of the sleeping accommodation, there is a lovely pool
which is shared between you and the other four apartments.

A five course dinner with local wine on your first night is included. As all cooking uses seasonal ingredients, there's no predicting what will be on the menu. A packed lunch and light dinner are also included in the price. The rest of the time, you are left to self-cater – you can choose to cook in the apartment, or you can eat at a local restaurant – either at the accommodation or in one of the nearby towns.

Rave Reviews From the Entire Family

"We have just returned from a wonderful week at La Tavola Marche. Our
apartment was spacious and comfortable, and the food was fabulous,
especially the "welcome feast". The location is lovely with beautiful
views in all directions, and being well off any main roads was perfectly
safe for our two girls (7 and 5) to run-around. Jason and Ashley are
wonderful hosts and went out of their way to look after us - the "family
cookery class" and the daily trips to feed the chickens and collect
their eggs were especially popular with the girls, as more obviously
were the pool and the swings!
The local towns also have plenty to
keep everyone interested if you do want to get out and about a bit.
Urbino is the most famous town nearby, but all the local towns we
visited had things of interest - the Brancaleonie palace in Piobicco and
the mummies in the Chiesa dei Morti (Church of the Dead) in Urbania are
well worth a vist to name just a couple.
All in all I couldn't recommend enough!" - King Family

Is It for Me?

Whilst this is a family holiday, the agriturismo is not exclusively for families, so there is no guarantee that there will be other children staying there when you are. This could be a positive or a negative depending on what you want out of your holiday. This holiday is all about doing activities together as a family, rather than the children having the chance to make lots of new friends. There is no tv, wi-fi or internet access at the farmhouse, making it an unplugged holiday as well. A wide selection of games & movies are available to watch on a rare rainy night. (Featured on Peter Greenberg's Worldwide Travel Site: Unplugged Family Vacations)

None of you needs to be an expert cook to enjoy the cooking element of the holiday. Just a basic interest in good food and eating will suffice! There is no set menu, as the class depends very much on what is growing in the garden, so best to be open-minded.